Monday, March 21, 2016

Enjoying Those Goosebumps?





Many people love a story that makes the hair on the back of their neck stand up, sends shivers down their spine, or gives them goosebumps.

I recently watched a movie, The Uninvited (1944), starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey. The uninvited individual was a ghost. By 1944 standards, I’m sure it had a few people on the edge of their seats. There was no gore, no blood, and they used a minimum of special effects. It held a couple of surprises, too. It was a fun movie, even with ghosts.

How could a movie such as this give you goosebumps? You’d have to ask someone who saw it in 1944. (I wasn’t even a twinkle in my parents’ eyes yet. Just thought I’d throw that in.)

Everyone has something different that makes them uneasy. Thick fog or a moonless night can make one’s blood run cold because of the unknown element that might be hiding just out of sight.

In my opinion, a book can create the mood better than a movie because once again, the reader’s imagination is in play and might be working overtime. Imagination can actually be scarier than watching a blow by blow story on the big screen.

In real life, fear can be devastating. In a book, it can make you get up and make sure the windows are closed and the doors are locked. It can make you fidget in your chair. It can even cause a nervous giggle from time to time.

Certainly it’s not just ghosts, but a hidden room, a monster, a shadow (of course, it would be elongated for more drama), or a vicious animal can set the scene for fright night. Ordinary everyday things can cause alarm, too. Noises, a brief glimpse of something, a book that’s been moved and the character knows he or she didn’t move it.

I have two large yellow Labrador Retrievers who scare easily. The smoke detector started softly beeping the other night because it needed new batteries and one of the dogs barked furiously while the hair on her back stood on end. Even after we took the batteries out, she was nervous. My husband once stood in the dark and made a snorting noise at the dogs. Their yellow streak, and I don’t mean the color of their fur, was front and center. You would have thought they were being chased by a bear.

Many readers love the mystery of the unknown. They purposely search out books that will make them feel ill-at-ease. When they finish the book and put it down, they go in search of another such story. How many times have you patted your chest, willing your heart to slow down because of a fright?

The blood and guts portrayed in movies doesn’t scare me. It’s the unknown that leaves so much to our own thoughts. The phone might ring in the middle of the night, but when you answer it, the line is dead. A noise outside the window that turns out to be a branch blowing in the wind can set someone’s teeth on edge.

When I was a kid there was a show on TV (and earlier on the radio) that started with the sound of a creaking door. As soon as the creaking started, I ran out of the room, stuck my fingers in my ears and sang at the top of my lungs so I wouldn’t hear it. True story. If you’d ever heard me sing, you’d probably run out of the room and stick your fingers in your ears. That creaking door struck a chord in me that scared me and gave me nightmares. It figures that I can’t remember the name of that show. If anyone has an idea, please enlighten me.

The element of surprise can make me jump easier than anything else. What scares you? Do you like the graphic scenes or would you rather let your imagination take you to the heights of fear? Or do you find you don’t enjoy frightening moments?

Until next time, check your doors and windows, close the blinds while you’re reading a scary book, and don’t – I repeat don’t – look behind that creaking door.

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12 comments:

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  2. LOL, Marja. As children, my brothers and I would sneak out of bed to listen to the radio show "Inner Sanctum," which scared us so badly that we couldn't sleep. Years later, one of Marlys Millhiser's books was so good and so frightening that I couldn't sleep after finishing it at 2:30 a.m. I prefer print thrillers over programming or films because I can always put the book down. : )

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    1. "Inner Sanctum"! I think that was the show with the creaking door. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who couldn't handle it. And, yes, you can always put a book down. Thank you so much for stopping in today!

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  3. Marja,
    When I was a little girl, my aunt used to tell me about the radio shows she listened to when she was a teenager - always at night when she was home alone. I remember that one of them was called Inner Sanctum. My grandparents would come home to find all the lights on in the house. Evidently, those shows scared the heck out of my aunt but she "enjoyed the goosebumps."

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    1. There it is again. "Inner Sanctum". Thanks! It's true that people love to be scared. "Psycho" was another movie that gave goosebumps, but I still prefer a good book. The imagination can really put one over the top. Thank you so much for stopping in today!

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  4. I agree that a book or short story can inspire fear in a reader more than a movie. I've read plenty of Stephen King's books. The movies always fall far, far short. Take Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. No movie could frighten me as much as Jackson's simple sentences as she describes what's going on in the town.

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    1. What you picture in your mind and what you see on a screen can be two very different things. The written word far surpasses movies. Thank you so much for stopping in today!

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  6. Oh Marja, I love to watch The Uninvited, especially around Halloween. Actually, I've read the book by Dorothy Macardle, published in 1942, which is quite different from the movie, and much scarier. You've got to read this book, it's hard to put down. I just finished reading a book of short stories titled, Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories To Be Read With The Door Locked. Sometimes I like a good scare.

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    1. You reminded me of an Alfred Hitchcock book I read many years ago. There was a story about a kids' Halloween party, and... I thought about reading the Dorothy Macardle book, but haven't looked into it yet. Thank you so much for stopping in today!

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  7. I'm late posting here this week. I remember listening to radio shows that were scary when I was young and huddling next to my father every time a door creaked or the wind blew through a supposedly open window. I could never understand why windows were left open during storms. Wonderful topic this week.

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    1. Now that you mention it, why were windows left open during storms? Yes, sounds are a big part of something being frightening. There was a radio station just a few years ago that was replaying old radio shows, and I recall having to turn one off because it was scary, even though I wasn't a child anymore. : ) Thank you so much for stopping in today!

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